Holy Week

Monday of Holy Week: Personal Reading
April 18, 2011: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11

Tuesday of Holy Week: Personal Reading
April 19, 2011: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12:20-36
 

Wednesday of Holy Week: Rev. Vincent Coles
April 20, 2011: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13:21-32

 

COMMENT:  I Am Ready.
On this Wednesday morning Jesus is preparing his heart and mind for his passion.
For thirty three years He has been preparing. He has studied. He has preached.
He has been tempted.  He has healed the sick; he has cast out demons; he has turned water into wine.  
He has fed the multitudes, walked on water, and even raised from the dead.  
Now he was ready to lay down his life for us.
Even when he knew that those closest to him would betray him and deny him, He kept his eyes on his goal.
Can we as Christians be that focused?  Can we as Christians be that committed?
Can we as Christians show that much love to each other?
Yes we can.  If Jesus did it, we can do it too.
Ask yourself this question today.  Am I ready?  

Maundy Thursday: Rev. Robert Wilson
April 21, 2011: Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ; John 13:1-17, 31b-35
 

COMMENT:  As we experience the spiritual blessings of the Lenten Season, we need Scripture anchors to prevent us from being driven, tossed and turned by the foolish secular society.  This Holy Thursday, specifically and this Lenten Season, in general are not about bunnies, candy, new clothes or other capitalistic spin offs.

Maundy is a word derived from the latin word Mandatum, which means command.  The Scripture anchor is given by Jesus in John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  According to Jesus, this selfless love is the requirement for complete participation in the New Commandment.  The bread and wine on the communion table are the physical symbols of the spiritual reality of Jesus’ New Commandment.

We celebrate eternal life over physical death at the communion table.  We celebrate the new life in Christ over the old life without Christ.  We commemorate this new life in Christ until his return to take us to everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Therefore, let us keep this ‘Maunday’ Thursday in worship of Jesus Christ, our Eternal King.

Good Friday:  Sister Carol Dessus
April 22, 2011:  Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42

COMMENT:   It’s Friday and the week is almost over, there are deadlines to meet at work, personal chores to complete for home and a date for a commitment that has been on your calendar since the beginning of the month.  Yes, we live in a busy time with everything around us moving at a rapid pace.  There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, so what do you do first?  Prioritize your list, dig in at a feverish pace or ask for help?  Is there answer in prayer?  What would Jesus do?

     It’s Friday and Jesus had a date with destiny.  His assignment from God the Father to give His life for the salvation of man was due.  In the midst of the pain that purchased our redemption Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22: 1-2.  However, deep within the soul of Jesus were the sustaining words of the psalmist, words Jesus heard from his childhood, which applied to him. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him…^*Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord and^* proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.”  Psalm 22: 27 and 30-31.

So, this Good Friday and every Good ‘Friday’, remember God’s goodness and faithfulness in any circumstance.  Our God is the one who turns pain into praise!  Hallelujah!

Holy Saturday:  Minister Kenneth Woodson
April 23, 2011:  Job 14:1-14 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24; Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16; 1 Peter 4:1-8 Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42

COMMENT:  After the death of Jesus on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea overcame his fears and publicly declared himself a disciple of Christ by the act of burying Jesus in accordance with Jewish customs.  Joseph was a wealthy man and thus had a lot to lose by publicly involving himself with a man who had been judged and put to death at the behest of the religious leaders.  Joseph's courageous act also prompted Nicodemus to step forward and declare his faith.  Fear of loss of status and material possession is a powerful emotion, and often dissuades us from taking unpopular positions.  These men however, responded to Christ in spite of their fears.  Joseph and Nicodemus loved and respected Jesus.  They risked their lives and status in the community, by claiming the body of Jesus and providing a funeral in accordance with Jewish customs.

This act of devotion by Joseph and Nicodemus is a great example how the people of God respond in the face of adversity.  Responding to a need and doing the right thing can be our first option in a Spirit filled life, regardless of our fears real or imagined.